Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical Duties

• Provide specialist palliative care advice to clinical teams.
• Undertake comprehensive assessment of patient nursing needs, plan, implement and evaluate care delivery according to changing health care needs.
• Demonstrate specialist skills and knowledge.
• Use advanced communication skills to impart information, advice and support at all levels.
• To provide timely holistic assessment of physical, social, emotional, psychological needs of patients at presentation and other points of contact as appropriate, ensuring early initiation of investigation, referral or management.
• Work with clinical teams to facilitate individualised patient care based on principles of evidence-based practice.
• Involve patients, their families and carers in the planning and delivery of their care.
• Monitor investigation results, initiating further assessment/review of treatment pathway as required.
• Liaise with all service areas to ensure timely review/treatment of patients with specialist palliative care needs.
• Engage in service development as appropriate.
• Provide guidance and support for patients making choices relating to preferred place of care and advance care planning.
• Provide symptom management advice.
• Utilise Independent prescribing skills to improve patient care delivery, undertaking all necessary clinical governance policies.
• Support the Macmillan specialist palliative care nursing team leader to initiate service change.
• Liaise with key partners in primary and tertiary care to ensure patients/families receive timely, effective specialist palliative care intervention.
• Manage and maintain own clinical caseload, prioritising workload responsibilities and ability to work flexibly to meet the changing needs of patients, escalating significant concerns to the line manager or Senior Clinician.
• Effectively record all activities in patient documentation, utilising a variety of electronic systems (eg Systmone / EPR ) and ensure professionals involved in care are updated on patient progress.

Professional Duties 

• Act as a role model for quality nursing care at all times, promoting the need for effective evidence-based interventions and compassionate care.
• Act as patient advocate at all points of the care pathway.
• Work within the NMC Code of Conduct at all times.
• Adhere to national, local and professional standards, guidance and directives relevant to their sphere of practice.

Managerial Duties

• Ensure adherence to all CHFT protocols, policies and directives within service delivery.
• Participate in service review and development alongside the specialist palliative care team.
• Work with other appropriate professionals to ensure holistic, comprehensive nursing assessment, care planning, care delivery and referral mechanisms are in place to support patients at appropriate points of their care pathway, ensuring advice and information is available to both patients and carers in all care settings.
• Work within the specialist palliative care team to ensure effective communication with other appropriate services, patients and carers takes place in a timely and effective way in all care settings.
• To ensure that continuity of care for patients and appropriate specialist nursing or other health and social support is available and accessible as appropriate, liaising where appropriate with other care settings and professionals.
• Work with the lead cancer nurse and other key cancer care professionals to support and develop cancer nursing and supportive care for cancer patients in Calderdale and Huddersfield.
• Work with other disease specific clinical teams to ensure equity of access to specialist palliative care for patients with non-malignant conditions.
• To act as a role model for other nurses caring for patients in the specialist palliative care setting.
• Support CHFT’s aims and objectives around service delivery and achieving targets.
• Work closely with the appropriate nurses, matrons/community nurses/Allied Health Care professionals to influence the nursing service and care provision for patients accessing specialist palliative care services.
• Under the supervision of the Macmillan specialist palliative care nursing team leader, review protocols and policies and help develop new ones where appropriate.
• Working with the Macmillan cancer information centre manager and Macmillan specialist palliative care nursing team leader where appropriate support the reviews of all patient/carer information and the production of appropriate new information as identified, ensuring these are offered at all appropriate points of the pathway of care in line with local, network and national guidelines and initiatives as appropriate.
• Within the framework of clinical governance, work continuously to improve quality and safeguard standards of care, maintaining a patient focused service, promoting and implementing evidence-based practice with measurable standards of care and outcomes. Be involved in audit projects to measure standards of care.  Help to identify and highlight any gaps in the evidence/service provision under the supervision of the Macmillan specialist palliative care nursing team leader.
• Attend regular relevant meetings (internal and external) and provide effective channels of communication within the team as required.
• Maintain a flexible approach and develop the role according to needs.
• Work alongside the Macmillan specialist palliative care nursing team leader to support the division/Trust’s annual plan and strategic vision in all care settings.
• Participate in service review and development under the guidance of the Macmillan specialist palliative care nursing team leader and cancer management team/community services manager.
• Participate in and promote patient and public involvement in specialist palliative care services as appropriate.
• Work towards supporting the Trust’s cost efficiency programme by correct use of resources and identifying areas for further improvement.

Financial Duties

• To be aware of the financial implications of the service needs and specific budgetary requirements related to specialist palliative care.
• To manage resources appropriately
• Awareness of the appropriate use of charitable funds